App Shortcuts

As a developer, you can define shortcuts to perform specific actions in your app. These shortcuts can be displayed in a supported launcher and help your users quickly start common or recommended tasks within your app.

Shortcut types:

You can publish the following types of shortcuts for your app:

• Static shortcuts are best for apps that link to content using a consistent structure throughout the lifetime of a user’s interaction with the app. Because most launchers can only display four shortcuts at once, static shortcuts are useful for common activities. For example, if the user wants to view their calendar or email in a specific way, using a static shortcut ensures that their experience in performing a routine task is consistent.
• Dynamic shortcuts are used for actions in apps that are context-sensitive. For instance, if you build a game that allows the user to start from their current level on launch, the shortcut will need to be updated frequently. Using a dynamic shortcut allows the shortcut to be updated each time the user clears a level.
• Pinned shortcuts are used for specific, user-driven actions. For example, a user might want to pin a specific website to the launcher. This is beneficial because it allows the user to perform a custom action, like navigating to the website in one step, more quickly than using a default instance of a browser.

WebView

If you want to deliver a web application (or just a web page) as a part of a client application, you can do it using WebView. The WebView class is an extension of Android’s View class that allows you to display web pages as a part of your activity layout. It does not include any features of a fully developed web browser, such as navigation controls or an address bar. All that WebView does, by default, is show a web page.